Characteristics of subjects with positive or negative workplace challenges, with distinction according to cessation of exposure
| All subjects | Cessation of exposure at work <2 weeks# | Cessation of exposure at work ≥2 weeks | |||||||
| Positive | Negative | p-value | Positive | Negative | p-value | Positive | Negative | p-value | |
| Subjects n | 22 | 77 | 11 | 36 | 9 | 34 | |||
| Sex male/female n | 16/6 | 48/29 | 0.45 | 10/1 | 23/13 | 0.09 | 4/5 | 21/13 | 0.29 |
| Age yrs | 36.8±9.7 | 40.7±11.6 | 0.16 | 37.3±10.5 | 41.1±10.9 | 0.98 | 39.9±12.8 | 36.9±9.7 | 0.12 |
| Smoking habit status smokers/ex-smoker/nonsmokers | 7/4/11 | 25/21/31 | 0.62 | 3/1/7 | 12/9/15 | 0.37 | 4/3/2 | 11/9/14 | 0.58 |
| Atopy¶ present/absent n | 16/5 | 54/21 | 0.79 | 9/2 | 25/10 | 0.40 | 5/3 | 24/9 | 0.43 |
| Treatment with inhaled steroids | 18 (82) | 54 (70) | 0.42 | 9 (82) | 25 (69) | 0.35 | 8 (89) | 25 (74) | 0.32 |
| Duration of exposure yrs | 7.7±9.9 | 8.7±11.4 | 0.40 | 9.3±11.0 | 9.5±11.9 | 0.86 | 5.8±9.8 | 7.4±9.8 | 0.57 |
| Duration of exposure with symptoms yrs | 3.0±3.7 | 3.0±4.9 | 0.94 | 2.6±2.7 | 3.6±4.6 | 0.13 | 2.2±2.5 | 2.5±3.4 | 0.68 |
| Occupational agent+ n | |||||||||
| Low molecular-weight | 17 | 62 | 0.90 | 8 | 29 | 0.64 | 7 | 27 | 0.62 |
| High molecular-weight | 5 | 15 | 0.90 | 2 | 7 | 0.64 | 2 | 7 | 0.62 |
| FEV1 % pred | 89.9±16.8 | 91.4±18.2 | 0.73 | 89.6±20.0 | 87.3±15.4 | 0.41 | 91.4±15.3 | 91.6±19.8 | 0.15 |
| FEV1/FVC % pred | 91.0±10.8 | 92.7±12.3 | 0.84 | 90.5±14.4 | 89.9±11.1 | 0.39 | 95.1±8.9 | 91.7±12.0 | 0.18 |
| PC20 ≤16 mg·mL−1 | 19 (91) | 50 (68) | 0.05 | 10 (91) | 31 (86) | 0.66 | 7 (78) | 16 (47) | 0.06 |
Data are presented as n (%) or mean±sd, unless otherwise stated. FEV1: forced expiratory volume in one second; % pred: % predicted; FVC: forced vital capacity; PC20: provocative dose causing a 20% fall in FEV1. #: information on cessation of exposure not available in nine subjects; ¶: atopy defined as at least one immediate reaction to a battery of 15 ubiquitous allergens by the prick method; +: tested in the laboratory in the first instance.